Rules and Scoring

Borders League Eligibility

There is just one age restriction on eligibility to run in the Borders League in any season namely, that runners must be 15 or over on 1st September prior to the season starting.

Disputes in previous seasons, over the status of runners moving from one Borders League club to another, led to the publication of the first document in the list below. This makes reference, in turn, to the two Club Transfers documents beneath.

The Competitions and how they are scored

Each Borders League meet is run as a single combined race, and the results are used to calculate the scores in 8 team competitions, along with 18 individual competitions. The following explains what those competitions are, and the scoring system used in each:

Initially, overall positions are assigned on the basis of finishing order, irrespective of gender. However, as from season 2016-17. these positions are merely for external publication of the results as a single race. They are no longer relevant to any of the Borders League competitions.

Subsequently, two further sets of results are extracted a male finishing order and a female finishing order. These are the results used in the scoring of (from 2016-17) all Borders League competitions.

Scoring is based on position within that finishing order 1 for first place, 2 for second, etc. So, in all competitions, the winner is the team/individual which/who accumulates fewest points over the season.

Runners who miss a particular race are assigned a penalty score for that race. For the individual competitions, this is 500 for men, 200 for women. For all team competitions, this is (following agreed rule changes at 2017 and 2018 AGMs) likewise 500 per man , 200 per woman.

TEAM COMPETITIONS

For all team competitions, team scores are calculated as the sum of the scores of all the team finishers plus penalty points for any missing team members.

For the main competitions (both genders), the competing clubs are split into a First Division, currently fixed at 7 clubs, and a Second Division, comprising the remaining 10 clubs.

At the end of each season, promotion and relegation operates between the two divisions, with the bottom two teams in Division 1 being replaced by the top two in Division 2.

Team sizes vary according to gender and division:

Division 1 Men10Division 1 Women4

Division 2 Men7 Division 2 Women3

Improvers Competitions

These are essentially team handicap competitions, with no segregation into separate divisions.

The handicap is assigned on the basis of the clubs average score per team member, calculated from the previous season. This is multiplied by the size of the team for the division in which it resides currently, to give a so-called target score.

In each race, the teams Improvers score is calculated by subtracting its target score from the its score in the main competition. In consequence, the most improved teams have negative scores.

Veterans Competitions

From 2016-17, two Veterans Competitions will operate – one each for male and female runners..

Male Veterans are defined as being in the MV40 class or older. Female Veterans are those in the FV35 class or older.

There is no segregation into separate divisions. Male teams consist of 7 runners; female teams consist of 3 runners.

INDIVIDUAL COMPETITIONS

Overall scores are calculated as the sum of the individual scores for each race, minusthe worst score incurred. In practice, this means that, to win an award, a runner can afford to miss one race but not two.

Individual competitions are segregated on the basis of age as well as gender. This results in the definition of 18 competition categories; these are defined below.

In addition, a trophy is awarded to best male runner overall, and to the best female runner overall.

Age category is now assigned on the basis of the runners age at the date of the first race of the Borders season. For season 2018-19, this is October 14th, 2018.

The individual competition categories defined for the Borders League are as follows:

U20M male, age 15 to 19 inclusive

SM male, age 20 to 39 inclusive

MV40 male, age 40 to 44 inclusive

MV45 male, age 45 to 49 inclusive

MV50 male, age 50 to 54 inclusive

MV55 male, age 55 to 59 inclusive

MV60 male, age 60 to 64 inclusive

MV65 male, age 65 to 69 inclusive

MV70 male, age 70 or over

U20F female, age 15 to 19 inclusive

SF female, age 20 to 34 inclusive

FV35 female, age 35 to 39 inclusive

FV40 female, age 40 to 44 inclusive

FV45 female, age 45 to 49 inclusive

FV50 female, age 50 to 54 inclusive

FV55 female, age 55 to 59 inclusive

FV60 female, age 60 to 64 inclusive

FV65 female, age 65 or overFurther categories (e.g. MV75, FV70) may be added as required.